What Kind of Party Would YOU Attend?

For me to go out, I have to pay $20/hr for a babysitter. So, I rarely go out unless it is date night. I'd go to somethiing to which I could bring my kids--so nothing too formal. Finger foods, around dinner time so that my kids will be hungry and want to eat too. Not focused on having TOO many other ladies--maybe 3-5.

I'm not much of a party person. However, a gathering for tea and a book club would immediately get my interest.

I don't go to parties where I will be expected to buy something. No Scentsy, or Home Interior or Mary Kay please. I would be excited to be invited to a Bunco party, a wine and cheese party, a bbq or poker party. Saturday at 7 or 8 would work well.

H.:

You might be reaching out to the wrong audience if people aren't responding. That sucks that people are soo rude as to not respond at all.

If you have kids in sports or a club (i.e. chess club, LEGO club, etc.) talk to the other parents about your ideas....get their feedback...this is the place to start with common ground...the kids...

I would also venture out on my own - to the library and see if there's a book club that I could join. Then you can have a book club party at your house, have friends over who share common interests!!

I know the other mama's and papa's on here will also have some great ideas!!!

GOOD LUCK!!

I would attend a party if I knew it was a place I could be myself and a place that I knew at least one other person. I guess, that is the difficulty since you are trying to meet new people! I would suggest inviting neighbors, or extended family - people you already know- if it is a party to be held at your house. Or you could throw a party and ask each invited person to go ahead and bring a friend. That has worked for me; I have met some good friends just by them tagging along with our friend to a get-together.
Some party ideas:
- Christmas candy making party or a cookie exchange
- Brunch
- Game night
- Guitar Hero/ Dance Central night on the X box
- BBQ or dinner party
- Poker night
- Ladies craft or scrapbooking night
- Make sushi night

If you are wanting to meet some new people, you might also try meetup.com or joining a club or class. Good luck!

I would be unlikely to attend a party that someone I didn't know well or at all was throwing at his or her house.

I attended a papmered chef party thrown by one of my neighbors, but I wanted to get out of the house, it was just down the street, I really like pampered chef, and I wanted to get to know my neighbors.

I would be more likely to attend a "block" party type of gathering - invite all your neighbors, anyone you want to get to know better, and hold everything outside in your driveway/front lawn. Make it potluck - you provide the "main dish" and everyone else can bring sides/dessert, byob, and come and go as you please. My less comittment and pressure in my mind.

Or there's always bunco (bunko?). It's a set activity where you interact with others, but the focus is on the game, it's fast-paced, and you can do breaks for munching and chit-chat.

It depends on what kind of party and what your overall goal is.

If you want family friends so that your families can get together, then a cookout or BBQ, a football tailgaiting party or something like that is a really good option. You want to have activities for the kids to do while the adults are watching the game, or playing bunko, or whatever. A relaxed and layed back atmosphere is the best. Do it in the afternoon, after nap, before dinner.

If you want to make friends for your kids, primarily, then a more child themed party is in order. Still do a cookout or whatever so you can meet the parents but have the activities geared more toward the children with things like, an obstacle course (homemade), a bounce house, a dance party using the wii or xbox games, a costume party using this years halloween costumes. Don't make it a birthday party or a party where people have to buy and bring a gift, just say it a fall party, kid olympics, or whatever and sell it to friends and neighbors as an opportunity for the kids and adults to all get to know each other at once in a safe and friendly way. Do it at the same time as the cookout.

If it's for the neighborhood, so you can get to know your neighbors, initiate a block party, with a potluck dinner, music, and so on. Do it at around 5 PM, time for dinner but still enough time to visit and get home early.

If it's for the adults, so you can make some adult friends, invite people to a poker or game night. You can play spades, dominoes, hearts, texas hold 'em, and do it tournament style, with the winner or winning team to receive a prize. Do it in the evening, around 7 PM, after dinner and time spent with kids and close enough to bedtime so parents don't feel like they are giving up family time.

I will not go to parties where there are MLM presentations and sales pitches for products and/or memberships of programs I am expected to buy into or purchase products.

We have a large neighborhood and our block area is pretty tight. Every Thanksgiving (usually weekend before) we have a 5K run/walk with parents/children and when it is over a nice brunch where we all gather to eat, socialize and reconnect with each other.

We do this same sort of thing except no 5K in the spring. This one is a crawfish boil.

We have a bunco group as well (about 16 moms) who meet, play, eat and socialize monthly

It is usually the same families, sometimes we have up to 100 ppl but its a great way to stay in touch with neighbors, make new friends, etc.

Our block does several neighborhood parties during the year.
They are always pot luck (everyone brings a dish) and the host serves the main dish (usually barbecue).
Drinks, some times it's bring your own beverage, sometimes drinks are provided.
In warm weather, neighbors bring their corn hole sets.
In cooler weather, a fire pit gets started up and people chat around the fire and sometimes roast marshmallows.
Not everyone can make it every time.
It's best not to have parties too close to established family holidays.
The neighborhood Christmas party is always the Sat 1 week before Christmas.
It's too busy any closer to Christmas, and people are partied out for awhile after New Year's.
Thanksgiving is too busy, so is Easter.
There's ALWAYS a party or two around graduation time around mid to late June.
4th of july, Memorial weekend, Labor Day weekend, Halloween/Samhain - all those are good.
Sometimes there's a party for no reason (Chili party, fondue party - everyone brings their own favorites (make sure there are power strips for all the crock pots).
People try out new recipes and trade them, too.
Last 2 years we've done a progressive dinner late February.
3 course meals, each course at a different house.
Appetizers/salad, main course, dessert.
Everyone contributes to one course or an other.
I LOVE our neighborhood and neighbors!

If your goal is to make friends, then I would suggest starting small and low-key. Cookie exchanges are a pain. I go to one every year because I adore the woman who hosts it- and that is the ONLY reason I bake 10 dozen cookies for that night. Making friends at a cocktail party generally doesn't happen.

I strongly suggest inviting 2 or 3 women that you would like to get to know better to come over for a ladies-only dinner party. Keep it simple and short- few appetizers, salad and soup for dinner and light dessert. Invite them over at 6:00 and plan on having everything "wrapped up" by 8:00. If they are enjoying themselves, then they will stay. If not, then they don't feel "trapped" at your home waiting to have dessert so they aren't being rude. If it's fun, do it again. If not, at least you tried.

My parents just had a "wine swap" party and invited a ton of people through a women's group that my mom leads. They expected a few to show up and ended up with about 20. It was just wine an heavy appetizers (enough to make a meal) and people stayed until well after midnight because it was relaxed and they felt like they could come-and-go as they wanted.

"Expanded" birthday parties? Just my mindset here, but if I'm at a child's party I'm probably supervising my own child and will not likely have more than a glass of wine. If it's a daytime party, water only for me. If the kiddos are older, most parents prefer to drop the child off and have a little time without the kids than stay and mingle.

There was an adult Halloween party (so parents had to find sitters) which had a good turnout in my neighborhood. I was surprised b/c of the babysitter thing, but it was the right party for the right crowd, I guess.

We throw theme parties. aside from the kids b-days and our regular barbecues,We had a mustache party the other day, a costume party for Halloween, we do a white elephant every x-mas, we had a tasting party that involved this crazy berry that changes your taste buds for about an hour.

we are planning a few more...a saved by the bell party (it will be so awesomely dorky) and im going to have a very girly party where you bring all the girly stuff you dont want and exchange it with the other girls that come. Ill be serving margaritas.

Ive noticed people that are new to us, or estranged will more likely show up if the party differs somewhat from the norm.

I recently hosted a Stella and Dot jewelry party (one of my girl friends sells it)... I invited about 40 people... like 10 actually came ;) We had so much fun though!! I did it from 2-5 on a Saturday... lots of people couldn't make it because their kids had sports and stuff, but it was completely worth the small crowd. Smaller gatherings are more intimate; you can actually dedicate more time to each person individually.

Sales aside, just start a monthly tea party or book club :)

Have a ladies brunch where bringing kids is optional. Provide coffee/tea/juice and bagels/fruit. Keep it simple & casual. I'm in a moms club and whenever we have a brunch, we get a good turnout.

I'm kind of a homebody and stick to my personal circle of friends, but I'm here to tell ya, if I got invited to a book club by a total stranger on the street I would be there in a heartbeat!

When I go to a new person's party, I like it to have a themed activity to get things going - conversation, similar interests other then kids, etc.
I adore book clubs and board games (big nerd, I know) and while my kids love board games too, not the same.
So if anyone invited me to game night or book club, I'd love to go.
Time preference - (I work during the week in an office) Friday evening like 4 - 7pm or Saturday same time.
Good luck!

To be honest, I am not a huge "party" person. I like small, casual, homey get togethers. If it's with the intent of getting to know people, though, I would not recommend throwing a party, I would recommend going to coffee or dinner with the potential friend - somewhere neutral. Someone that you don't know very well may not want to come to your home, which is very personal. Not to mention, you will not be able to connect with everyone & be attentive to everyone if you throw a party.

I like pj pizza game night parties (with adult drinks of course)... I like being comfortable, and I've found, so do all my friends~

Game night!! Or maybe start hosting football Sunday at your house...the boys can watch football, the girls can have margaritas, and the kids can play together!

I'm assuming you're talking about neighborhood get-togethers, although you might not be.

Many people are very casual (to put it nicely) about responding to invitations. And, unhappily, too many think, "Why am I being invited? What's in it for me? Is she selling something or what? If I have to buy something I won't go, but if there's nothing to interest me, I won't go, either. I have better things to do with my time." I won't say that neighborliness is a thing of the past, but it's not always a very strong item on anybody's list.

I'm the type of person who would invite people over one or two at a time. If you did that, you could just serve some tea and cookies, and you could talk with the ladies. Ask them questions - especially about themselves. People love to talk about themselves, and they usually love folks who let them do it.

Since Thanksgiving and Christmas are coming up, perhaps you could plan some sort of open house. Invite the neighbors to have a cup of spiced cider and some pie (or something) and to say hello to the neighbors - sort of an indoor block party. They could stay for as long or as short as they pleased.

From the previous posts, it sounds as if book clubs are a popular idea with many women! Go for it.

And be sure to say hello or wave to anyone you see every day.

I think for parents that have small children the 4-7pm pm range is ideal-- I would go to any of the parties listed. GL